ISL 2017-18: Balwant Singh brace fires Mumbai City FC past NorthEast United FC

Courtesy: Twitter (@MumbaiCityFC)

Guwahati: Striker Balwant Singh scored a brace as Mumbai City FC thumped NorthEast United FC 2-0 in the Indian Super League (ISL) here on Wednesday.

The win took Mumbai into the top four of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) table and banished the memories of a disappointing 0-1 loss against ATK at home.

NorthEast now sit in lowly ninth position and have scored just two goals in six matches.

The first goal was a howler as NorthEast`s goalkeeper, Ravi Kumar ran out of his area to challenge Balwant, who simply had to arrange the ball past him into a gaping goal from outside the box.

Mumbai City put the result beyond doubt with a second goal in the 68th minute. A lapse in concentration from Rowllin Borges allowed Achille Emana into a dangerous area from where he squared the ball for Balwant. With an open goal awaiting him for the second time in the match, he made no mistake whatsoever.

The goal came minutes after Balwant had missed a chance from close range. Emana was the man at it again, but his cross was headed over from yards away in an inexplicable miss.

But while Balwant took credit for the goals, it was Emana who caused the most trouble for NorthEast. The attacking midfielder created room for himself brilliantly on the hour mark, but this time Ravi Kumar got down sharply to make a stop.

NorthEast piled on the pressure and sent fizzing crosses into the box at will, but a lack of cutting edge in front of goal meant those chances went begging.

They saw Marcinho smack the post with an attempt and Seiminlen Doungel miss from point-blank range before Mumbai`s goals. This profligacy in front of goal will certainly be a problem in their quest to qualify for the business end of the Hero ISL.